International Comparative Analysis of Poverty in Asia: Urbanization, Migration and Social Policy

Southwest Jiaotong University (SWJTU) and the Institute for Poverty Alleviation and International Development (IPAID) are jointly organizing a symposium in October 2012 on the effects of urbanization and poverty alleviation in Asia. The main purpose is to address the widening income gap between rural and urban areas in Asia in the past thirty years.

Development scholars, researchers, and practitioners are invited to submit high-quality papers with a focus on the symposium theme of urbanization and migration in Asia and its affect on poverty in both rural and urban areas. The symposium aims to create a dialogue among scholars of Asian development studies to address effective urban and rural poverty reduction strategies.

The symposium will focus on the following set of issues which include (but are not limited to): Rural development and urbanization in Asia International standards of poverty alleviation Access to land and land right education (rights, inequity, and poverty) Labor mobilityand poverty Gender based income inequality Social policy to tackle poverty and inequality Housing, transportation and infrastructure development National policies and measures for the eradication of poverty

The symposium will conclude with an excursion to disaster areas in Chengdu affected by the 2008 earthquake which killed an estimated 69,000 people. SWJTU has taken a lead in the recovery efforts and research cooperation in the field of poverty alleviation in Western China's less developed areas.

Selected papers from the symposium will be published in a special edited volume of the Journal of Poverty Alleviation and International Development (JPAID) in 2013.

Submission Deadlines

Submission of a 500 word abstract is due by August 15, 2012. If accepted, SWJTU will communicate with you in September to submit a full paper (6000-8000 words). Deadline for submission of full paper is October 15, 2012.

All participants will be provided with accommodations and meals at Southwest Jiatong University for the duration of the symposium. Participants are responsible for their own travel to attend the symposium.

For more information regarding the symposium, please contact: The Institute for Poverty Alleviation and International Development Yonsei University at Wonju 1 Yonseidae-gil Wonju, Gangwon-do, Korea 220-710 Email: ipaid@yonsei.ac.kr

***************** Southwest Jiatong University was founded in 1896. As a nationally renowned university located in Chengdu, SWJTU has conducted a number of comprehensive research projects on this topic. China in the previous two years has selected Southwestern Chongqing and Chengdu as pilot reform cities targeting coordinated rural and urban development through reforms in all sectors. The final aim of coordinated rural and urban development is to eliminate poverty and give rural farmers and migrant workers the ability to enjoy the same rights, public services and living conditions as urban residents do. The two pilot cities have pledged to carry out reforms in such areas as household registration systems, land management, social security and government administration. Website: http://www.swjtu.edu.cn

The Institute for Poverty Alleviation and International Development (IPAID) at Yonsei University, Wonju campus was established in 2010, as a university-wide research institution. The goal of IPAID is to alleviate poverty and promote sustainable international development through various domestic and international collaborations and comprehensive research on regional and global poverty reduction. Website: http://ipaid.yonsei.ac.kr